Ed Nuhfer, Director of Faculty Development and Professor of Geoscience, California State University, Channel Islands

James Rhem, Executive Editor, The National Teaching & Learning FORUM

Abstract:

When we think of teaching and learning in a college classroom, we usually focus on the cognitive domain: the skills and concepts that students must master to learn the course content. However, the affective domain plays a critical role in student learning. It governs students' willingness to learn, ability to accept new ideas, and motivation to seek and use new knowledge. Organizations' influences on affective domains affect true diversity and creativity. This session invites participants to consider how the affective domain influences their own philosophies of faculty development, and to develop strategies for incorporating affective issues into their work as faculty developers.

Workshop rationale:

The affective domain has been described as the product of the brain that produces the sense of feelings and emotions that are "complex but internally consistent qualities of character and conscience" (Krathwohl et al., 1964, p.7). Qualities of thought dominated by affective qualities are many and include attitudes, self-awareness, biases, ethics, self-esteem, enthusiasm and likes and dislikes. We are only consciously aware of a portion of the affective domain's influence on our actions and choices, including those that we may believe are totally based on cognitive objectivity.

As time passes, it becomes increasingly apparent how far ahead of their time Benjamin Bloom and his colleagues were in the 1950s. "Bloom's Taxonomy" is among the most cited contributions to education (Bloom, 1956). In contrast, the contributions in the second of the three handbooks, taxonomy of the affective domain, is largely an unknown among college instructors (Krathwohl et al, 1964). Yet, the sheer power of the affective domain makes it the principal influence on the life decisions and satisfaction of these same professors and their students. While we may reason through our cognitive development, we act from our affective domains, which are likely less developed. Students choose colleges, classes, major, and careers largely from feelings that become action choices. "Math anxiety" and writer's block" can change aspirations of students while "morale," "campus atmosphere," and "quality of life" trigger life-changing decisions by professors. It is likely impossible to divorce a single cognitive thought or decision completely from the affective domain. Only a few higher education institutions prepare students to recognize and understand its influence, and professors and faculty developers are largely products of institutions that emphasize only cognitive learning. To truly educate students and to do high quality faculty development requires working with the affective domain.

Workshop goals:

First, we want to introduce participants to the importance of the affective domain in higher education teaching and learning.

Second, we want participants to consider ways in which the affective domain influences their own philosophies as faculty developers.

Third, we want to give participants experience with three tools that can be used with faculty to address the role of the affective domain in their teaching: dilemmas, knowledge surveys, and self-reflection surveys.

Provenance: Sean Fox, Carleton CollegeReuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

Provenance: GSAReuse: If you wish to use this item outside this site in ways that exceed fair use (see http://fairuse.stanford.edu/) you must seek permission from its creator.

GSA supports On the Cutting Edge

The mission of The Geological Society of America is to advance geoscience research and discovery, service to society, stewardship of Earth, and the geosciences profession. We support geoscience education at every level. Join us at http://www.geosociety.org/

Provenance: NAGTReuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

Value this site? Help us ensure its future.

The On the Cutting Edge website and workshop program are supported by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT). Join today and your membership will help ensure that this site can continue to serve geoscience educators. Join NAGT today

Provenance: NAGTReuse: This item is offered under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ You may reuse this item for non-commercial purposes as long as you provide attribution and offer any derivative works under a similar license.

Your NAGT membership helps make this site
possible. Thank you!

The On the Cutting Edge website and workshop program are supported by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT). Your membership is helping to ensure that this site can continue to serve geoscience educators.